Rosie
by Peter Stannard and Frank Hatherley
Rosie the musical music by Peter Stannard, Book by Frank Hatherley and Lyrics by Stannard and Hatherley. ROSIE was inspired by the life of Rosie Shaw (1905-1971) — florist, free spirit, Sydney icon.
Background
Rosie was born Solinski in London (1905) to a Russian/Jewish father and a cockney mother. The Accounts she gave of her early life and her reasons for travelling to far away Sydney were varied. Mercurial Rosie shaped her own myths and lived her new Australian life to the full. By chance she got into the flower game.
Though she died in 1971, many Sydneysiders still vividly remember her, With her bulky layers of street clothes, gumboots, electric, red-dyed hair, Rosie sold flowers from a stall in the centre of the city. She sang and sold there for 40 years, with a confronting smile and a clarion soprano trill, as much part of Martin Place as the Cenotaph or the famous dunny in the centre of the road.
Perhaps surprisingly, her after-work activities couldn’t have been more contrasting. She went to all the first nights, ballet and operas usually in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce and She was mother hen to an assortment of Kings Cross bohemians, artists and drop-outs. Her high spirits, restlessness and kindness were legendary.
Cast
Rosie Shaw…………………………………………………………….Geraldine Turner
The Passers-by
Rosina/Beryl/Phil/Dancer………………………………………..Jillian o’Dowd
Naomi/ Besty/etc……………………………………………………. Angela Toohey
Madame Fredericka von Bernstein/Melba etc…………… Jeannie Kelso
George/Israel/Magistrate/etc ………………………………….Rodney Dobson
Herbert/Roland/Chris/etc……………………………………… Hilton Bonner
Gloria/Joe/etc ……………………………………………………….Tyran Parke
Jack/Roger/Myra/etc ……………………………………………..Rohan Seinor
Willy/Louie/Rita/etc ………………………………………………Nick Simpson-Deeks
Hank/Hymie/Paul/ etc …………………………………………..Alexander Lewis
Cast from World Premiere The Independent Theatre North Sydney Australia August 06, 2005
Creative
Writer & Director …………Frank Hatherley
Co-Choreographers ………Ronne Arnold and Jane Beckett
Costume and Set Design Graham Maclean
Lighting Design ……………Donn Byrnes
Set Construction …………..David Thomas
Composer ……………………Peter Stannard
Stage Manager …………….Sheryl Talmage
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